The Final Battle
by Makenzi Lane
Summary: Love is what saved him all those years ago, and love is what he would need to defeat the most dangerous wizard of all time…
1. Chapter 1

_Love_, it seemed such a simple word, but so much was tied to it, so much was at stake. If everything didn't go as planned, there was so much to lose as well…

It had been five years since the funeral, five years since he broke her heart. I had also been five years since the Dark Lord attacked—anyone. Once the Dark Lord realized he was down two horcruxes, he went into hiding. Many suspected he was gathering more forces. Harry, though, was sure it was to secure the remaining horcruxes.

Harry turned his thoughts back to Ginny. In the five years since he broke her heart, he had tried to rectify his mistake. In time she began to let him back into her heart. It was painful though, for both of them. Harry had a lot to make up for, and Ginny had to learn to trust again.

Less than six months ago, Ginny finally accepted everything. She finally realized that Harry was never going to hurt her again. Now the time was right for Harry to do the one thing he had wanted to since he first realized how much he loved Ginny.

xxxXXXXXxxx

Ginny and Hermione sat at the table in alternating silence. Ginny sipped her tea, while Hermione was reading—yet again—trying to find the missing piece to the puzzle.

"Oh, oh. Ginny, I think I've found something," the smile on her face looked like it was going to split her face in two.

"Really? What is it?"

"Well, you—wait a sec," her face darkened as she became totally depressed. "Never mind, it says the same thing as every other book I've read this week." Hermione slammed the book and shoved it into her bag.

Ginny suppressed a giggle, even though the smile on her face was harder to mask; for Hermione had been doing this all evening. Every book seemed to say the same thing, "There is no known way to destroy a horcrux."

"Well, look on the bright side."

"What bright side?" Hermione replied, the contempt on her face obvious.

Ginny's expression sobered. She looked at her tea and frowned. "At least you found a way to pass the time."

Hermione gave her a soft smile. "They'll be here. Don't worry."

Ginny looked up at Hermione, her face splitting into a wide grin.

Hermione smiled, "See, I told you it wasn't that bad."

Ginny shook her head and giggled, "No, silly." She pointed at the door behind Hermione, "They're here!"

Hermione turned around and saw Harry and Ron walking toward them. When they reached the table, Ron wrapped his arm around Hermione and placed a kiss on her cheek. "Good evening Love."

Hermione kissed Ron on the cheek and returned his greeting.

Harry, on the other hand, picked Ginny up out of her chair and kissed her hard on the lips. Ginny almost melted there in his arms. "Hi, Gin."

"Hi, Harry. I missed you."

Harry pushed the hair out of Ginny's face, "I missed you too."

Ron rolled his eyes and faked a gag. "It's only been a day you two. You act like you've been apart for like a fortnight or something."

"Yeah," Hermione added, "it's not like you didn't know where they were either. You even had a chance to go with them, but you turned them down."

Ginny blushed, as she sat back down, "I know, but I still missed him."

Harry took the seat beside her and Ron took the seat by Hermione. The waiter brought tea for Ron and Harry. They sat there for an hour or so alternating between eating and talking about the nothing they've found in Hermione's books, and what Harry and Ron found on their journey the past day.

When they had finished their dinner, Harry got up and leaned toward Ginny and whispered into her ear, "Hey, Gin, can I ask you something real quick?"

Ron and Hermione looked at Harry knowingly; Harry shrugged wondering what they were thinking.

Ginny looked at him with a quizzical expression on her face, "Okay."

They walked outside to a bench in front of the restaurant. Harry allowed Ginny to take a seat and then sat next to her. He took Ginny's hand in his and looked into her eyes. How he loved looking into those eyes, he could get lost for days in them. He brushed a lock of hair from her face before running his hand through his own mop of hair. "Ginny, I…Well, you know that…I mean…what I'm trying to say is…"

Ginny smiled, and then pressed her lips against his. "Does that make it easier for you to say what you want to?

Harry smiled and looked down, he then sighed and looked back ather, the smile gone, "Not really." He forced a smile, it looked more like a painful grimace than a smile. "Ginny, I—"

"Ginny, Ginny, Ginny!" Harry and Ginny turned to see Hermione sprinting toward them, a huge grin on her face. When she reached them, Harry and Ginny could see tear streaks on her face. "Ginny, Harry, I've got the best news."

Ginny cocked her head looking at her friend trying to read into her happiness. "You found out how to destroy a horcrux?"

"No, silly," she replied, shaking her head. "Ron just proposed to me!"

Ginny jumped up and wrapped her arms around her friend, "Oh, Hermione, that's wonderful!"

Harry stood up, a little dumbstruck, "That's wonderful Hermione." At that moment Harry noticed Ron standing behind Hermione, his head down. "Cheers, Ron!"

Ron looked up, he looked more confused than happy. Harry walked over to him and grabbed his arm, leading him away from the giggling, gossiping, girls. When they were out of earshot of the two Harry turned Ron around to face him. "What's wrong, mate? You should be just as exstatic as Hermione."

"Well," Ron began, "I thought I would be, except I don't know what came over me. I didn't even mean to ask her tonight, I mean with what you wanted to talk to Ginny about, I figured it wouldn't be a good day to, you know, ask her, but I did."

"What happened that made you lose your mind and pop the question to her tonight?"

"Well, after you two went outside, Hermione looked at me, her eyes just so beautiful, I mean—Wow!"

Harry rolled his eyes, "Get on with it Ron!"

"Oh, okay. Well anyway, she looked at me and said, 'Ronald, I love you.'"

"You two say that all the time, what would make today different?"

"I'm not sure, but she said that, then I said, 'I love you too, Hermione.' Then that's when I lost it. I said that I loved her so much that—"

"You didn't."

"Wait a sec, you want the story, then shut up and listen. Well, I said I wanted to never leave her again. Then she was like, 'Oh, Ronald, does this mean what I think it means?' Then I asked her what she thought it meant. Then she said, 'Does this mean you're asking me to marry you?'"

"Don't tell me anymore."

"Well, she looked so happy and so excited, that I couldn't let her down. You know I've been carrying around the engagement ring I bought her for about four months now. Anyway, I pulled it out of my cloak, and said, 'Yes, love. Hermione, will you marry me?' I mean, I'm surprised you didn't hear her scream. The whole restaurant was looking at us."

Harry groaned and slumped against the wall. "This makes things difficult."

"I know, mate. I mean…like I said, I wasn't planning on it. With you telling Ginny and all that—"

"I didn't tell her."

Ron's mouth dropped, "Why not?"

Harry looked at Ron in disbelief. "Because right when I was about to tell her, your fiancé came running out like a madman."

Ron, groaned. "I'm so sorry, this is all my fault, I mean this was suppose to be your day."

"It's alright, Ron. It isn't your fault. I've just got to tell her, but not today. Now, today is your day. Congratulations, mate." Harry put his arm around Ron.

For the first time Ron smiled, "Thanks, Harry."

At that point the girl's joined them. Ginny put her hand in Harry's. "Didn't you want to talk to me?"

Harry, looked at Ginny and smiled. "It can wait. We've got some celebrating to do."


	2. Chapter 2

Harry was sitting on the edge of the bed in the twins' flat. The twins had gone holiday so they let Ron and Harry stay there until they returned. The sunlight filtered in through the fluttering curtain. Harry stared at the trinket in his hand. How long would he have to wait to tell her? After Ron proposed to Hermione, he hadn't found an opportune time to tell Ginny. He sighed, "Everyday I wait to do this, it gets harder and harder."

There was a knock at the door, Harry jumped in surprise. He quickly shoved the item he was holding into his robes as the door opened. Harry relaxed as Ron's figure filled the door frame.

"Harry?"

"Yeah, Ron?"

"Harry, I…I wanted to…to apologize, you know, about the other night and all. I—I—I feel so bad about spoiling everything. I—"

"Ron, it's okay, really."

Ron looked into Harry's eyes; he could tell that Harry really meant it. Ron smiled with relief. "Yeah, okay mate. You up for a game of Wizard Chess?"

"Sounds great."

xxxXXXXXxxx

"Hey, Ginny?" Hermione's voice rang across the Weasley'skitchen room.

Ginny barely made any mention of the fact that Hermione had addressed her, mainly because she was lost in the world of gossip in the latest issue of _Witch Weekly_. "Uh huh?"

"What do you think about spring? I mean there are so many lovely blooms and colors."

"Yeah, that sounds nice," Ginny replied with no clue of what she was agreeing to.

Hermione was just as oblivious to Ginny, because once again she was staring at the ring on her finger. It wasn't anything ornate, but it meant the world to her. It was a symbol of the love she and Ron shared. "Good, good. I was thinking of a shade of blue for the bride's maid dresses. Baby blue. Yes, that's it _baby_ blue."

This snapped Ginny away from her magazine. The only problem was Ginny heard only one word of what Hermione said. She made matters worse by blurting out her assumption as Mrs. Weasley walked into the room. "You're having a baby!"

Hermione turned so fast, to look at Ginny, that all you could see was a streak of bushy hair. "I MOST CERTAINLY AM NOT!" Hermione exclaimed, only it wasn't heard by anyone because Mrs. Weasley, at the mention of "baby", dropped the basket of folded laundry she was carrying and shrieked. She would have hit the floor—as she started to faint—it not for the fact that Mr. Weasley heard his wife scream. He ran to the kitchen just in time to catch his wife in mid swoon.

_ Molly. Molly, dear, wake up_.

It sounded as if it were from a dream, and that voice, she knew that voice.

_ Molly_.

It was louder now.

"Molly."

This time she heard it, and knew who was behind that voice. She opened her eyes, the fuzzy bits of kitchen slowly coming into focus.

"Molly, dear, are you alright?" Mr. Weasley asked.

Mrs. Weasley turned to face her husband; his face was as pale as the first snow. She smiled, "Yes, Arthur, I'm fine."

Mr. Weasley smiled as the color flooded back into his face. "Excellent! But what happened?"

At that, Mrs. Weasley's face contorted into a furious grimace. She became aware of Ginny and Hermione standing in front of her. She focused all her attention on Hermione. Through gritted teeth she spat, "She's having a baby."

xxxXXXXXxxx

"Oy! That's not fair!" Ron exclaimed incredulously.

Harry chuckled. "What do you meant, 'that's not fair'? You left your king unprotected. It's perfectly fair. You know what they say. 'All's fair in love and war'…and chess." Harry laughed again.

Ron, on the other hand, was muttering under his breath. Although, Harry did pick up on one phrase, "…dirty, rotten, cheat…"

Harry, shaking his head in amusement at Ron asked, "Isn't it about time for dinner?"

Ron looked up at him, still scowling, "Nah, we still got an hour or so."

"You want to head over there and see if we can't give your mum a hand?"

Ron shrugged, "Alright. But this doesn't change the fact that you cheated."

With that the two of them walked down the stairs to the shop. They said "Goodbye" to the assistant manager, Leloni, and walked outside. Once out in the sun, they both disapperated. A mere moment later they apperated into the back yard of the Weasley house. "It sure was nice of Fred and George to let us stay in their flat while they're on holiday, I mean it's much better than Grimauld Place," Ron commented as they walked along the garden path.

"Yeah," replied Harry. "I am really glad to be away from there, I mean—"

But what Harry was going to say, Ron would never know, for at that moment, Harry and Ron walked into the kitchen just in time to see Mrs. Weasley glaring and pointing at Hermione, and they heard something they'll never forget: Mrs. Weasley saying, "She's having a baby."

Before Hermione could correct the situation, Ron went over to her and started screaming. "WHO'S THE FATHER? I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!"

"Ron," Hermione tried to interject peacefully.

"I MEAN, I JUST ASKED YOU TO MARRY ME A MERE THREE DAYS AGO, AND TURNS OUT YOU'VE BEEN PLAYING ME ALL ALONG!"

"Ron," Hermione tried again, this time more forcefully.

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY. OFF GALAVANTING WITH WHO KNOWS HOW MANY MEN, AND DOING—"

"RONALD WEASLEY!" Hermione finally shouted.

"What?"

Hermione smiled, "I'm not pregnant."

"Really?"

"Really, I'm not. I love you; I would never do anything like that to you."

"Are you sure?"

Hermione laughed, "Of course I'm sure."

Ron turned his usual shade of red, looked into her eyes, "I'm sorry for shouting."

Mrs. Weasley threw her hands into the air. "Well, that's fine and dandy for you maybe, but how do the rest of us know if you are telling the truth or not?"

"Mum, that's easy, I believe her."

Hermione smiled at the sweet innocence of her fiancé.

Mrs. Weasley, however, glared at her son, "Yeah, like that's a valid reason."

"Molly, dear," Mr. Weasley interjected, quite amused at the entire situation.

Mrs. Weasley swung on her husband, "What?"

"I would just like to point out that there is a simple way to solve this."

"Really. And how do you propose we do that then," Mrs. Weasley replied with thick sarcasm.

"The same way you found out about Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred and George, Ron, and Ginny."

Mrs. Weasley opened her mouth, shut it, opened it again, and shut it again. She finally shrugged, and relented. "Very well. Hermione, come here, please."

Hermione timidly walked closer to her. Mrs. Weasley pulled her wand from her robes. She traced a circle around Hermione's stomach three times with her wand, then she flicked her wrist twice and said, "Infomnīs premere."

A white ring formed in the trail of Mrs. Weasley's wand strokes, and then slowly dissipated. Hermione looked to Ron and then back to Mrs. Weasley. "What—what does that mean?" she asked softly.

Mrs. Weasley smiled, "It means that you're telling the truth, dear."

There seemed to be an audible gasp as the tension in the room disappeared. Hermione took Ginny by the hand and pulled her into the family room. She turned to face Ginny with fire in her eyes. "Ginny, what on earth would make you think that I was pregnant?"

Ginny looked sheepishly at Hermione, "I thought—I mean you said that you were having a baby."

Hermione looked shocked. "I never said that!"

"Yeah you did," Ginny replied hurt. "You even said you were going to call him baby Hue.

"Do you need a scouring spell on your ears? I said I was thinking of using a shade of blue for the bride's maid dresses. _Baby blue_."

Ginny turned red, very red, and looked at the floor. "Hermione, I'm so sorry. I wasn't paying attention. I didn't mean to—oh, I'm so sorry."

Hermione looked at Ginny—glared is more like it. Then her expression softened. "It's okay." She walked over to Ginny and hugged her. "Everything worked out; the truth came out, so no harm done."

Finny looked up, tears were leaking out of the corner of her eyes, "I really and sorry," she whispered.

Hermione smiled and hugged her again, "I know."


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione received an offer to work at the Ministry of Magic in the Magical Antiquities Department immediately upon graduation from Hogwarts. Ginny received the same offer one year later. Hermione, of course, accepted the offer immediately. Knowing full well that she could use this position to help in the search for the horcruxes—for this department tracked, cataloged, and stored items of magical or historical significance. Ginny also accepted the position, for the simple fact that she would be able to work with Hermione. Ginny was still in the dark regarding the horcruxes, as were everyone except for Ron and Hermione.

"Miss Granger, Miss Weasley, my office _now_," came a wheezy, raspy voice from the open door.

Ginny looked over at Hermione and whispered, "What now?"

Hermione shrugged, and then said, "Coming Mr. Frankberg."

Hermione and Ginny went through the door into Mr. Frankberg's office. "Yes, Mr. Frankberg?" Ginny asked.

Mr. Frankberg stood up—which made little difference, for Duncan Frankberg was a short man who looked more bowtruckle than human. "Can either of you tell me," he rasped, "why I have so many inquiry replies regarding the gilded chalice of Helga Hufflepuff?"

Ginny, thoroughly confused, looked to Hermione for an answer.

"Well, sir," began Hermione, "we've had just so many inquiries ourselves, from Hogwarts alumni, particularly those from Hufflepuff house, why there isn't anything belonging to her on display in the Headmistresses office. I mean with the sword of Godric Gryffindor and all, they feel left out."

"Enough," Mr. Frankberg said waiving his hand in annoyance. "Miss Granger, you could ramble a man to death with your infinite knowledge of nothing at all. Anyway, take these replies and be off. And I don't want to hear anymore of Helga Hufflepuff's belongings, understood?"

"Yes, Mr. Frankberg," Ginny replied.

Mr. Frankberg nodded in acknowledgement of Ginny's reply and looked to Hermione. "Miss Granger, did you hear me?"

Hermione's head snapped up, for her attention had been on a piece of parchment that slipped out of the stack. "Oh, um, yes, Mr. Frankberg, no more."

"Very well." Mr. Frankberg took the stack of parchment from his desk and handed it to Hermione.

Hermione took the stack and bowed herself from the room, "Thank you, Mr. Frankberg."

Ginny followed her out. When the two were back at their desks Ginny asked, "What was that about? I haven't received any inquiries on anything relating to any of Hufflepuff's possessions."

"You haven't?" Hermione asked, surprised. "Well, I have, and I think I may have a lead on where we can find it. I saw it here a moment ago. Here, you take half and help me look." Hermione handed Ginny half the stack.

Ginny took it reluctantly. "What exactly am I looking for?"

"Anything regarding the location of the cup."

Ginny shrugged, and sighed, "Alright."

Ginny got two pages in before, "Uh, Hermione?"

"Hmm?"

"I found something, I'm not sure what you are looking for, but I found, something. There's a name at the top, but there's so much grime on it, I can't read it, then it says 'Stay out of the Dark Lord's business, if you want to live.'"

Hermione took the page from Ginny. "Let me see if I can make it any more legible." She pulled out her wand and waved it over the page. "Abstergrere inquinare." The page trembled as the magic washed over it. A layer of grime vanished from the page. "Regulus," Hermione whispered.

"Who?" Ginny asked.

Hermione looked at her. "Regulus. Regulus Black."

"I thougt he was a death eater."

"Maybe there's more to this mystery than we first thought."

"So is that what you were looking for?"

Hermione shook her head, "No, but keep looking, I know it's in here."

xxxXXXXXxxx

Harry and Ron, after passing _all_ of their NEWTS, both became aurors. Recently they were going through the old files on the sightings of Lord Voldemort. They were trying to see where, if anywhere, he frequented most to get a clue to where he hid the other horcruxes. When Dumbledore died, it left Harry clueless as to how to look for them; this was the only thing he could figure to do.

"Mortlake. That's the fifth file today with a sighting in Mortlake. That makes twenty I've found this week." Ron looked at Harry, "It's worth a look."

Harry agreed, "We have some free days next week, we'll plan to look then."

Ron stood up and stretched. "Do you think this trip will be more profitable?"

"It depends."

"On what?"

"On whether or not Voldemort had any special connection with this place. I mean the locket was in a cave where he tortured children when he was just a child himself. The question is: does this town have in significance to him?"

Ron went back to his desk and picked up the file he was reading. "Well, it says here, that three muggle's were found beside a well, dead. The police found nothing to explain the deaths, which would make since if the Avada Cadaver curse was used. Anyway, when the families claimed the bodies for burial, each said that there was an item missing. They were all missing pocket watches. An odd thing to be missing, but if Voldemort does keep trinkets, then it may explain the missing watches."

Harry nodded in agreement. "This trip may be profitable after all. The well, did it say where it was? That may be the beginning of the path."

Ron flipped through the file again. "It just says west of Sheen Lane."

"Well, that's where we'll start. It's your turn to tell the girl's that were going away."

Ron looked at Harry disheartened, "Oh, come on. You know what Hermione did last time I told them."

"Yeah, I do. But we agreed we'd take turns."

Ron sighed. "Fine." He took out a quill and ink jar from his top drawer. He then grabbed a fresh piece of parchment from the top of his desk.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm writing a note asking the girl's to meet us for lunch. I'll tell them then." Ron scribbled the note quickly then folded the parchment into an airplane. He picked up his wand and muttered, "Advolare aerium planum."

The paper airplane's wings started flapping and zoomed out of the office door. It fluttered down the hall then went into the lift. At the desired floor it fluttered out and down another hall then finally into the Magical Antiquities Department where it landed softly on Hermione's desk. Hermione picked it up and read it. "Ginny, the boys want to meet for lunch."

"Olay," Ginny replied. "Hermione, what was on the page you were looking for?"

"I'm not sure what the whole thing said, but it was from a wizard saying that he had seen it, that's all."

"Well, I think I may have found it. It says:

_Miss Granger,_

_I came along your correspondence by a friend of mine. He says that I have seen what you are looking for. I saw a man, for he was a man at the time, many, many years ago, in the town center with it. Later in life he became the most feared wizard. Anyway, several years after another man came looking for it. I'm not sure what his first name was, but his sur name be Black. He never found it though. Couldn't figure out where it was hidden. Once I learned that it was Lord Voldemort I saw with it, I had no inclination to find it. I hope my information has been helpful._

_Sincerely,_

_Reginald Barlow _

"Is that all?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, but don't you find it interesting he mentioned, 'Black'?"

"Very. Where did that one come from anyway?"

"Mortlake."


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione and Ginny made it to the Ministry lunch room before Harry and Ron. "I wonder what they want to talk to us about," mused Ginny.

Hermione shrugged, she was anxious to tell Harry and Ron what she found out about the cup. She was also trying to figure out how to get Ginny away long enough to tell them.

"Hello ladies," came a familiar voice from behind them.

Ginny turned to see her brother smiling at them, and close behind was Harry. They took two seats across from the girls. Harry looked at Ron, who swallowed hard and then went to telling the girls what he'd been dreading. "Well," he began. He looked up and then back at his twiddling thumbs. "I have a bit of bad news."

Ginny broke in immediately, "Oh, no. What happened? Who's hurt?"

"No, no, no, it's nothing like that." There was a collective sigh of relief from Hermione and Ginny. "It's just that, well, Harry and I are going out of town again. We don't know how long we'll be, but we're leaving next Thursday."

Hermione looked a little glum; Ginny on the other hand was completely depressed. "But you just got back," she whined.

Harry reached across the table and tookGinny's hand, "This is very important, Gin."

"Fine," she relented. "But where will you be going, and can I come with you this time?"

"This time, I'm really going to need you here. I think it might be too dangerous for you to come," Harry responded. "Anyway, we are going to Mortlake."

Hermione looked absolutely flaberghasted. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Mortlake? That's odd," Ginny replied.

"What's odd?" Ron asked.

"Well, Hermione just received an inquiry reply on the gilded chalice of Helga Hufflepuff. It was from a wizard in Mortlake who had seen Voldemort with it a long time ago."

"Harry, this is perfect. I mean it fits—OUCH! You didn't have to kick me. What did you do that for anyway?"

Hermione coughed, to get Ron's attention, she briefly pointed to Ginny before Ginny noticed.

Ron went pink in the cheeks, "Oh, sorry."

Ginny looked back and forth between Ron and Harry, with a very Mrs. Weasley expression on her face. "What's going on that you aren't telling me?"

"Nothing," Harry lied. "But you're right it is quite a coincidence that we are going to Mortlake, and that there is a possibility that the cup is there as well. Maybe we could look into that for you while we are there."

"That would be excellent," Hermione tried adding enthusiastically.

Ginny was still not convinced she was receiving the whole truth, as evident from the expression on her face—she actually looked ready to kill. "Okay, everyone, stop. What in the bloody hell is going on? I mean you are—Crap!" The glass of water Ginny had in front of her had just fell over spilling on her robes. She quickly got up, "I'll be back. I'm going to go dry off." She stalked away, angrily.

"Sorry, Harry," Hermione whispered. "I had to."

Harry looked confused, and then comprehension dawned on him. "You made her glass spill, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but I figured you didn't want to explain everything, here and now."

"It's alright; I understand why you did it. And thank you. I didn't want to explain everything yet. So, is it true what she said about the cup?"

"Yes it is Harry. And, you'll never believe this, that wizard in Mortlake also said that a man by the name of Black was there several years later, looking for it."

Harry's and Ron's eyes widened. "But…but…but…" Harry stammered.

"That's not everything," Hermione added before he could actually get out a coherent sentence. "The man I originally contacted in the Mortlake region was a friend of Dumbledore. He sent back a letter saying that it was Regulus that was there and a letter actually written to Regulus telling him to back off."

"Well, I hope that we don't encounter a similar situation that you and Dumbledore did," Ron added.

"Which part?" Harry asked in disbelief. This was still a sore subject. Harry still, in part, blamed himself for Dumbledore's death.

"I just meant, you know, that I hope that if it's still there, that it's like, that it's not a fake, like the two of you found," Ronstammered sheepishly.

"Harry, we all know that it wasn't your fault," Hermione said trying to comfort him.

"Let's not get into this now," Harry choked. "I don't want to dredge up these memories."

"What memories?" Ginny asked as she sat back down.

Harry looked up, his eyes glistening, "Dumbledore's death."

Ginny reached across and took Harry's hand squeezing it affectionately. "It's okay Harry." She smiledsweetly, then, remembering the conversation prior to her departure,her expresion changed to a sarcastic smirk, "You know, this doesn't change the fact that the three of you are keeping something from me. So, what is going on? Really?"

Harry looked down; he pulled his hand away from Ginny. He took a deep breath and looked up into her eyes. "Ginny, I can't tell you. Not yet anyway."

"Does this have anything to do with what you were going to tell me the day Hermione and Ron got engaged?"

Ron and Hermione exchanged glances nervously, both turning pink with embarrassment.

Harry sighed again. "Yes it does. But I'm not ready to tell you, here."

"Why the hell not?" Ginny asked crossly.

"I can't answer that," Harry replied softly. "But, the day Ron and I return, I will tell you—everything. the whole truth—holding nothing back. I promise."

Ginny looked at him sternly, she studied him: his expression, his eyes, the color in his face, and the sound of his breathung. She then took a deep breath, "Do you swear enough, that if I asked you to make the Unbreakable Vow, you would do it?"

Ron and Hermione gasped at the course Ginny's thought process was going.

Harry on the other hand smiled lovingly at her and nodded. "If you ask it of me, I will do it."

Ginny smiled, "I won't ask you to, but knowing that you would do that is enough. I love you Harry. I don't want there to be any secrets between us."

Harry took a deep breath, "And after next week, there won't be."

xxxXXXXXxxx

"What in the name of Merlin were you getting at? I mean, the Unbreakable Vow? Why?" Hermione argued when they returned to their office.

"I was just making sure that he was telling the truth is all," Ginny answered pleased with herself.

"But the Unbreakable Vow? Why?"

Ginny sighed. She actually did feel quite horribly for what she did. "Well," she began timidly, "it's been how long since we got back together? And I thought all secrets were behind us. I wanted to make sure that he wouldn't back away, again. I know you and Ron have known since day one of when whatever it is happened. It hurts knowing that one day we will be married, and he doesn't have the same trust in me that he does in the two of you. I know he's known the two of you longer, and that he's been friends with you longer, but how can I help, if I don't know what's wrong. I know in all relationships there are some promises and secrets. But I have a feeling that this one, if kept hidden, will be the end of us, forever."

Hermione looked at her friend. She understood why. She knew Ginny was right; this secret could destroy the relationship between Ginny and Harry. "I'm sorry."

Ginny looked at her, "Sorry for what?"

"For yelling and for ruining Harry's chance of telling you last week."

Ginny laughed, "It's okay, and you didn't know what was going through my head when I asked that of Harry. And it certainly wasn't your fault that my brother proposed."

Hermione smiled awkwardly, "It kind of is."

Ginny looked stunned, "How do you mean?"

"He wasn't going to ask me that night. I tricked him into doing it. He was going to tell me something and I mentioned marriage and he asked."

Ginny laughed again. "He can be a bat-bogie-brain sometimes."

Hermione feigned offense, and then laughed herself. "You're right about that. I mean it only took him six years to even admit he had an inkling of feelings for me."

xxxXXXXXxxx

"My sister's gone mental!" Ron exclaimed once they were out of earshot of anyone.

"No she's not," Harry replied.

Ron looked at him disbelievingly. "Mate, I'd say you've gone mad as well."

Harry smiled, he knew Ron meant well. "She's got to know she can trust me. I've kept this from her for a while, and her not knowing can end it all. If that happens, then we are all lost."

Ron nodded, thinking, processing what he had just heard. "You're right mate."


	5. Chapter 5

"Harry, what do you suppose is down there?" Ron asked timidly as he looked over the well.

"Who knows? Probably similar to what I encountered last time. I just hope it's easier."

"Easier? What do you mean 'easier'?" Ron asked as his focus once again settled on Harry. "How can it be easier? I mean what are you expecting? Cornish Pixies?"

"Of course not Ron," Harry replied exasperated. "I mean, with Dumbledore, he could feel the magic around him. I don't know how he did it. I just hope that I will be able to."

"Oh, okay. So, back to my original question: what do you think is down there? You don't suppose that there are spiders down there do you?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "I can't believe you Ron, spiders are the least of our worries at this point. There could be Inferi, or poisons, or dark arts booby-traps." Harry looked at the well. It really wasn't much to look at. You could tell it hadn't been used in at least a century. The bricks were old and crumbling. Harry sighed, "Spiders are the least of our worries."

"So was that a 'no' on the spiders?" Ron asked hopefully.

"Ron, will you please get off about the spiders. There are much, much worse things than spiders."

Ron looked hurt and grumbled incoherently.

"Are you ready?" Harry asked after several moments.

"I guess so."

Harry walked up to the well; he put his leg over the lip. "How deep do you suppose it is?"

"Beats me? Hopefully not too far, and hopefully a soft landing."

"Well, here goes." And with that Harry threw his other leg over and began falling in the well. Then as quickly as he jumped in, he landed with a soft thud at the bottom.

"Harry, Harry, are you all right?" Ron screamed down from above when he heard Harry land.

"Yeah," Harry replied as he stood up. He brushed the dirt from the back of his robes. "I'm fine Ron, come on down."

"Do you see any spiders?"

"Ronald, just come on!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Ron screamed as he jumped in the well. Then he too landed with a soft thud at the bottom.

"Lumos." The tip of Harry's wand ignited in light and filled the chamber they were standing in.

"You know, that wasn't too bad," Ron commented as he stood up. "It was actually kind of—fun?" Ron was dumb struck. For in front of him were several passageways, none marked. "Well how in the bloody hell are we supposed to figure out which way to go?"

Harry opened and closed his mouth trying to speak, but no word's came. He stood there for a full five minutes working his mouth before he could say anything. "I—I—I don't know," he finally stuttered.

"What do you mean 'I don't know'?" Ron asked mockingly. You drag me all this way, and all you can say is 'I don't know'. Pathetic!"

"Ron, it's not my fault!" Harry exclaimed crossly. "You think I wanted to come down here and find this? I told you it wouldn't be easy?"

"Well, I don't know. I'm sorry Harry; I know it's not your fault. I didn't mean to yell at you."

"I know Ron. It's just so important that it makes it so difficult. I—what's that?"

"What's what?" Ron asked turning to see what Harry was looking at.

"That." Harry pointed to what seemed to be an ordinary rock wall. He walked over to it and held his wand high to spread the light.

Ron walked over to Harry and stood next to him. "I still don't see what you're talking about."

Harry pointed at a stream of water trickling from the wall. "That is what I am talking about."

Ron looked at the water. "So, there's water on the ground. Big deal. It used to be a _well_." He emphasized the last word with heavy sarcasm.

Harry took his free hand and ran it across the surface of the wall. "Ron, the wall is dry. That means the water is coming from behind the wall. Which means the wall isn't a wall."

Ron looked at Harry, confusion evident on his face. "What do you mean 'the wall isn't a wall'? What else would it be?" Then comprehension seemed to dawn as an ecstatic grin split his face. "You're thinking it's a door."

Harry smiled; he inwardly chuckled at Ron's reaction. "Exactly! Put your hand on the wall, it's warm and it tingles. Maybe this is what Dumbledore meant by 'feeling' magic."

Ron did as he was told, and indeed the wall was warm, and it made his hands tingle. "Wicked." He looked at Harry eagerly. "So, how do we get in?"

Harry sighed, thinking back on the first trip to find a horcrux. "I think I know." He rolled up the sleeve to his robe, took out a small pocket knife, and made a small incision on his wrist.

"What in the name of Merlin are you doing?" Ron asked disgusted.

Harry just ignored Ron and continued what he was doing. When blood began to trickle out of the cut he made he put the knife away. Then, in one fluid motion, he smeared the blood on the surface of the wall. The wall faded, and there before them was a dimly lit corridor.

Ron stood with his mouth agape. "I can' believe this. You weren't kidding, about anything, were you?"

Harry shook his head. "Get your wand out Ron, were going in."

xxxXXXXXxxx

"What's a horcrux?" Ginny asked absentmindedly as she thumbed through some paperwork.

"Well," Hermione began, "horcruxes are—wait a minute, you aren't getting me that easily. Harry told you, he would explain everything when they returned."

"Well, I just thought that since I've been helping you look through all those books lately, that you would tell me."

Hermione smiled, "If I hadn't promised, I would. Harry will tell you. Just wait until he gets back. Besides, I really feel as if he should be the one to tell you."

"Tell you what deary?" Mrs. Weasley's voice startled the two girls. They both quickly looked to the back door from which Mrs. Weasley was toting fresh vegetables through.

"What Harry wants for Christmas," Ginny quickly lied.

"Christmas?" Mrs. Weasley asked. "That's still several months away. Shouldn't you be thinking about a birthday present first, seeing as his birthday is a month and a half away?"

"Well, I already got his birthday present mum."

Mrs. Weasley shrugged, she knew her daughter was hiding something, but she didn't feel like prying. "Well, okay. You're going to have to clear off this table soon; dinner will be on in an hour."

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione replied.

"Hermione, please, call me Molly or mum. You're going to be part of this family soon enough. So drop the formality, please?"

"Okay, Molly," Hermione replied uncomfortably.

"There, that wasn't so hard now, was it?" Mrs. Weasley beamed as she walked to the sink.


	6. Chapter 6

"_He's here master! He's here!" an unfamiliar voice exclaimed in excitement._

"_So he is," a cold voice hissed. "I wonder, do you think our guest would like some refreshment, Regulus? I'm sure he had a very hard journey."_

_Regulus forced a chuckle while his master was consumed in maniacal laughter. When his shrill hissing faded he belted a single curse, "Crucio!"_

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Harry screamed in utter pain. He twisted, and clawed at the floor. He couldn't break free._

"_Master, why do you not just kill him now? Why delay your glory?"_

"_What? And deny myself the pleasure of watching him squirm and beg?"_

"_I was only thinking that—"_

"_That is your problem Regulus, you think." Voldemort lifted his wand and Harry relaxed. "You see you are only a pawn, a minion—if you will. You do as I say and do not question me. Understand?"_

_Regulus nodded timidly then shrank back into a corner._

"_Crucio," Voldemort said lazily, this time pointing his wand at Regulus, who fell horribly to the floor and began cursing and yelling. Voldemort lifted his wand and Regulus began crawl into the corner. "You will not cross me again, will you Regulus?"_

"_No, master, never."_

_Harry took the opportunity he was given to look around, to see if he could place himself. There was a mirror in the corner, he squinted, he saw the reflection of himself, only, it wasn't him in the mirror, it was someone else, someone he was very close to. But before he could place the face he heard Voldemort's attention flow back to him._

"_Now, back to our guest. Crucio!"_

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Harry, wake up!" Ron exclaimed as he shook his friend. "Harry, Harry, HARRY!"

Harry sat up with a start; he was sweating, and shivering. He looked around to try and get his bearings. He was in a corridor, there was water dripping—very rapidly—from a stalactite, there was light—the majority of it coming from two wands: one was on the floor; the other was in the hand of a person, a rather tall lanky person, with red hair. "I know you," Harry whispered.

"I should hope so mate."

"What happened Ron?"

"Well," Ron began as he helped Harry to his feet. "You opened the rock, door thingy with blood, and then we came in here and you just kind of passed out. Then you started screaming."

Harry was confused, his body ached, he felt like he had been hit with the cruciatus curse, but it was a dream. "He was torturing someone."

Ron looked more confused than Harry felt. "He who?"

"Voldemort. Oh for crying out loud, haven't you gotten over that by now?"

"Sorry, I wasn't expecting you to bring him up."

"Whatever."

"Well, why do you think he was torturing somebody?"

"Because I was there. I was here."

"What do you mean you were here? We just got here. And besides, isn't you-know-who keeping you out of his thoughts? How could you have seen him? And what he was doing?"

"Well, first of all, it was a memory, not something occurring now."

"How do you know that?" Ron asked smugly.

"Because Regulus Black was there—was here. Second of all, it wasn't from Voldemort's point of view. It was from the person he was torturing. I was that person."

"Well who was it?"

"I don't know. I mean, it's someone I know, I could tell that much, but I couldn't place the face." Harry began to pace idly. He walked from one end of the corridor to the other. No other visible door or opening was present. He was trying to think, trying to place the images he saw in this memory to the present day. He stopped in one corner, "The mirror was here." He walked to the center of the corridor, "I was here—well not me, but the person that was being tortured." He continued to the back wall, "And Voldemort was sitting here."

Ron shrugged, obviously not impressed. "So, what does that have to do with finding the horcrux?"

"Ron, haven't you figured out yet that where ever Voldemort had significant, oh I don't know, memories, that that's where he's hidden the horcruxes? He spent time here, he murdered people here, he created a horcrux here. From the man in the memory." Harry walked back to the corner where the mirror had been.

"Harry, are you sure you didn't bump your head when you fell? I mean this all sounds pretty fantastical."

"I know how it sounds Ron, but I also know what I saw. The mirror was right here." He stuck out his hand to point at the exact spot, but before he could do that he jammed his hand hard, on something, that wasn't there. "Bloody hell that hurt," he grumbled.

Ron walked over and stood next to Harry. "What'd you do mate?"

"I—I don't know," Harry stuttered. He slowly reached out with his hand to find the thing he hit. He finally found it. It was hard and cold. Harry took his wand and pointed it at the invisible object. "Denudare." A wisp of gold mist spat out of the end of his wand. He and Ron watched it swirl and shimmer around the object, finally revealing a mirror—the mirror.

Puzzled, Ron walked up to the mirror. "Well, why in the name of Merlin would anyone care to make a mirror invisible? I mean, what's a mirror got to do with anything?"

_It's the key_, Harry thought. He looked back to where Voldemort would have been sitting. He walked over to the spot; he pointed his wand, and once again, "Dunedare." Again the gold mist spat from his wand and swirled and shimmered until the chair was revealed.

Ron came over to Harry. "Now what?"

"One of us has to sit there and see what we can in the mirror. I have a feeling that the mirror was there to help him watch something. I mean there is no other explanation, is there?"

"Of course there is. He just liked looking at himself."

Harry allowed himself a brief chuckle before calculating his next move.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Are you gonna sit or not?"

"What if it's a trap?"

"You should have thought about that before waving your wand about like that."

Harry tried every detection spell he knew to see if the chair was indeed a trap. After he exhausted his library of spells he relented to the fact that he would have to sit down and suffer any consequences that came of his actions. He took a deep breath, then swallowed hard, "Here goes nothing mate." Harry closed his eyes and turned around.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Ron asked after about thirty seconds.

Harry opened his eyes again, "Oh, yeah, right." He gingerly placed his bottom on the seat. Nothing happened. He let out the breath that he did not realize he was holding in. He scooted back into a more comfortable position and looked straight into the mirror.

"Well, what do you see?" Ron asked impatiently.

"Nothing," Harry replied. "I see only the dark wall of this cursed place. I mean I can feel the magic all around me, but I can't seem to feel it in any one place more than the other. Stupid thing. Dumbledore would have been able to figure this out in an instant. Why did Snape have to go and kill him for? I'm going to get him yet for that." Harry thrashed his wand about in a menacing way; he then directed a spell directly at the mirror, "Confractum."

Intending to destroy the mirror, Harry was caught completely off guard when the spell bounced off the mirror and hit the wall. A few shards of rock crashed to the ground as a small cloud of dust settled itself among the debris. In the reflection of the mirror, Harry could see a small dot of shining gold. He shot up out of the chair and ran over to the wall. Ron had already beaten him there. Together they inspected what Harry's spell had done. The first thing they saw was a gold colored lock. Upon further inspection they discovered that there was a door handle carved out of the rock, and that there was now an outline of a door, where there was just smooth rock before.

"I got this one, Harry." Ron gave his wand a quick swish, "Alohamora." He looked at Harry with a satisfied grin and grabbed the handle of the door; he gave it a mighty tug. Nothing happened. "That's funny." He swished his wand again, "Alohamora." Again he tried the door, it didn't open. "The bloody thing's broken."

"Ron, do you honestly think that Voldemort would make it that simple? I mean, come on, he doesn't want people to find his horcruxes. I think that this might have to be done the old fashioned way."

"You mean blow it up?"

"No. I mean that we need the key."

"Oh," Ron nodded, not really understanding what a key had to do with opening a door the 'old fashioned way'. "So, how we gonna get this key?"

"That my friend is an excellent question."

xxxXXXXXxxx

"Oh these books are hopeless," Hermione cried as she slammed yet another book closed. "We're never going to find what we need."

Ginny looked at her friend from across the table, "Well, maybe if you told me what a horcrux was, I might be able to help a little more."

Hermione shook her head, "Absolutely not, I promised Harry."

"Oh, come on. Just tell me, he'll never have to know."

Hermione sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you what a horcrux is." Ginny scooted to the edge of her seat, she looked like she was about to hear an especially juicy piece of gossip. "A horcrux is very dark wizardry."

Ginny's mouth fell open. "That's it? That's all you're going to tell me?"

Hermione nodded, not trusting herself to say anything more.

Ginny was obviously upset. She got up from the table and stormed off. A few minutes later she came back into the room. "Hermione, I should have never asked you to betray Harry, I'm sorry."

"It's okay Ginny. I can't even imagine what you're going through right now."

Ginny smiled. "Although I'm surprised that you've been looking through all of these books for you answers."

Hermione looked confused, "How do you mean?"

Ginny giggled, "Well think about it. The ministry basically banned the dark arts, so if this is a very dark magic, it wouldn't be in a ministry library would it?"

Hermione blushed, she actually never thought about that. "Ginny, I think I'm going to have to get in contact with an old friend."

This time Ginny was the one who was confused. "Who do you mean? Who do you know that knows about dark magic?"

Hermione was already scribbling a note. She didn't even look up to answer Ginny's question. "Oh, Viktor."

Ginny's mouth once again fell open. "You mean Viktor Krum? From Durmstrang? You're not serious are you? Ron would be livid. You know how jealous he is."

Hermione looked Ginny in the eye, "That's why we're not going to tell him. And besides, he's been married for a year and a half."

"And how do you know that?"

Hermione let out a sigh of agitation, "Don't you read _Witch Weekly_? It was in there the week after the wedding. Anyway, as I was saying, it's not like Ron's got anything to worry about. So, how does this sound?" She handed the parchment to Ginny.

_Viktor,_

_How are you and Lividia? I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the wedding. Anyway, I'm working on something extremely important and I need your help. Since you're a teacher a Durmstrang now I was wondering if you could find a couple of books for me. I need something on how to destroy a horcrux. Don't ask me why, because I won't be able to tell you. It's just very important. Write back soon._

_Sincerely,_

_Hermione_

Ginny looked at Hermione as she passed the parchment back to her. "So why didn't you go to the wedding?"

Hermione took the parchment and rolled it, then sealed it magically. "What do you mean?"

"Well you just told me that you knew of the wedding because of an article in _Witch Weekly_, but in the letter you just finished writing, you wrote that you were sorry you didn't attend the wedding. So, why didn't you go?"

Hermione sighed. "I got the invitation about two months before the wedding. It actually invited all four of us. I showed it to Ron, and he said he would never go to the wedding because Viktor was being stupid for dropping out of quidditch to get married. He said he also found it ridiculous that anyone could be happy just teaching after playing professionally."

"Ron has dung bombs for brains sometimes."

Hermione nodded her head in agreement as she began to pack up her belongings. "Let's get this out right away, and not a word to Ron, or you're going to pay.


End file.
